Closer Than You Think
by Prettylittletheory
Summary: Picks up after 3x09 "The Kahn Game" and includes more of -A's antics, reveals who is involved in the A team, and finally gives us some answers that we've all been waiting for.
1. Mail Call

**Author's Note: this is my first fanfic that I am serious about completing, so please be nice and review, constructive criticism is welcomed, and I hope you get as interested in reading it as I was writing it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars. **

As Aria closed her book, she rose from her bed and slid on a pair of sandals. She glanced out of her window and studied her hometown of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. Rosewood was one of those towns where everyone knew your name and whereas most people would think that's a good thing, when you have a secret, it's the worst thing that you could ever imagine. Aria brushed off the uneasy feeling and went downstairs to find her brother, Mike, asleep on the couch. She figured her dad, Byron was at work again, so she went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. Feeling her phone buzz, Aria flipped open her phone.

"_Mail Call, Aria dear. Go check what I gave you." -A_

Aria decided to check with the other girls, and to no surprise they had gotten the same message. They all decided to meet up at Spencer's barn and open them together.

"What is this?" Hanna whispered as she entered the barn doors.

"I don't know, just come on so we can open them." Spencer replied.

In unison, each one of the girls opened the large envelopes with their names typed neatly on the front. The girls gasped. Each envelope had a torn piece of paper in their hands and when put together, made a photo of their beloved friend Alison. On the back there was a message.

"_I am closer than you think."_ -A

In the bottom of each of the envelopes there was a brown powder.

"What is this?" Emily asked, dumping the contents of the bag out into her hands.

"This is dirt." Spencer answered.

Aria remembered throwing piles of dirt on Alison's casket at her funeral.

"Could this be from Ali's grave?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tears filled Emily's eyes. "You guys, this is too much." she said sadly.

The girls sat around, trying to think of what to do next.

"I don't know what to do, I am running out of ideas." Hanna said as she paced the room.

The sound of leaves rustling sounded outside. Spencer got up and walked toward the door. She looked out to find a note stuck to the welcome mat that said

"_Think you're brave? Visit the shed at 10."_ -A.

The girls got up and looked over Spencer's shoulder .

"Are we really going to do this?" Aria asked.

"We have to Aria! If we really want this to work, we all have to go." Spencer whispered.

"Fine, but let me tell you something, I'm not letting A get away this time." Aria replied.

At night, the girls headed out to go visit the shed. As they arrived, the girls looked around. They didn't see anything or anyone near their destination.

"I am so sick of this. None of this has helped us find out anything!" Hanna said.

"Hanna, stop!" Emily begged.

They went inside of the shed and sat on the floor. Spencer lit a candle and placed it on the ground. The doorknob rattled and the girls jumped to their feet, startled.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Spencer asked the girls.

The girls nodded and suddenly the door silenced. Slowly, the girls walked toward the door and opened it quickly. There was a small messenger bag at the door.

"Should we open it?" Hanna asked.

"I'll get it." Aria answered, reaching for the bag.

As she opened the bag, she saw a note and as she pulled it out, she could see the familiar lines of a crisp, red, A.

"_Don't say I never helped you."_ -A.

Deciding to look through the contents at Spencer's barn, Aria grabbed the bag and they ran to the car.

"Spencer, just hurry up! We have to see what's in here!" Hanna said furiously.

"Okay, okay, I'm trying." Spencer answered.

Spencer sped up and tried to get out of there as fast as possible. When she got to the barn, she noticed Melissa's car in the driveway.

"We can't go through this with her in there." Aria whispered.

"Let's just go to the lake house." Hanna motioned towards the Hastings' house. "Can't you leave your mom a note?" she added.

Spencer tried to walk as calmly as she could so her sister, Melissa, wouldn't notice her. She returned with the key in her hand. She opened the door and climbed in and as soon as she sat down, she put the car in gear and drove for what seemed like hours until she finally arrived to the lake house with her friends.


	2. At The Marin House

**Author's Note: I know that this chapter is very short, but I am working on Chapter 3 and it is gonna be a good one, especially for Emily fans. Also, this chapter will have stuff that is crrently happening. Please keep reviewing, and let me know what you would like to see in the following chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars**

**At The Marin House...**

The was a knock at the door and an almost asleep Ashley Marin woke up startled and answered the door. A young man, known as Detective Darren Wilden showed his badge.

"Darren, I am tired of you showing up all the time." Ashley said with a stern tone.

"I need your daughter to come take a blood test. We believe that she has something to do with the murder of Alison DiLaurentis. If she doesn't agree within five days, she will be taken downtown."

Not knowing where her daughter currently was, Ashley tried to protect her daughter as best as she could.

"She's with her father, could I let her know when she gets back?" Ashley asked.

"Just let her know that I stopped by." Wilden said slyly.

Ashley shut the door and sat down. She placed her head into her hands and let out a large sigh. She picked up her cell phone and dialed a phone number.  
A receptionist answered and asked Ms. Marin how she could help her.

"Could you transfer me to Veronica Hastings' office please?"

"Sure." The receptionist said.

Hanna was in no place to get in trouble with the law and Ashley was going to help her avoid Wilden at all costs.


	3. Familiar Faces

**Author's Note: Hey guys, so in a way, I thought that this much drama and stuff would be weird this early in the episode, but I wanted to get the drama and love ball rolling, so here we are! I hope you like it, and please, review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.**

_**At the Hastings' Lake House...**_

As soon as the girls arrived to the Lake house, they ran inside and dumped out the contents of the bag onto the floor. They all sat in a circle and leafed through each individual item. There were newspaper articles on Alison's disappearance, Maya's death, and even when Alison's grave had been dug up.  
"You guys, what is this?" Aria asked.  
Inside was a pair of handcuffs with an A marked on each one. Aria noticed a piece of paper under the rug that read  
"Em-go look under the pillow."  
With curiosity, and sudden knowledge that the note had not been signed by A, Emily went to the bedroom and received a letter under the pillow.  
"_My Dearest Emily-_  
_Before you find out everything, I want to explain some things. First, I know about A. I found out right before the masquerade ball. I wanted to tell you, but it was too late. I know that you are hurting, and I'm so sorry for that. The person who tried to kill me is still out there, but I need you to trust me and please, do what I say. I know you have already been hurt enough, but trust me, if you don't stop her soon, she may try to hurt you even more. The night before the masquerade ball, Paige came to my house and told me that if I didn't break up with you, then she would break up for me. I knew what she was capable of, so I contacted one of my friends from True North, she was a med. student, and I asked her to do me a favor. She gave me a testing cadaver and I put it in my shed, to set up my plan. She showed up the night of the ball with a knife and when she came toward me, I ran. I ran as far as I could and when I got to my destination, I had to stay there until I knew it was safe. I am so sorry, Emily, for putting you through all of this, but just know that I will always love you._  
_Forever yours, Maya Anne Saint Germain."_  
With tears rolling down her face, Emily showed the letter to her friends. They tried to console her as much as they could, but it wasn't enough. She heard the closet door rattle and looked back to find her girlfriend, Maya, standing before her.  
"Maya." Emily said, forcing back sobs, slowly standing up.  
"Emily, I am so -" Maya said, before her girlfriend cut her off by kissing her on the cheek.  
"I missed you." Emily said, allowing the tears to run down the sides of her face.  
"I missed you too." Maya said, in return.  
As soon as Emily stopped hugging Maya, Spencer leaned in and hugged her.  
"We all really missed you." She said  
"So why are you staying here?" Hanna asked.  
"I've been staying different places and I knew since it wasn't summer vacation, then not too many people should be up here. I had wrote that note a long time ago, and I saw your guys' car pull up, so I wrote the note really quick in hopes that one of you would find it. Spencer, please don't tell your family." Maya added.  
"Oh, I would never." Spencer replied.  
While Maya and Emily sat in the kitchen talking, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer tried to sort through the rest of bag.  
"So what do the handcuffs mean?" Spencer asked.  
"Maybe she knew a cop before she went missing."Hanna said.  
"Maybe we should all just call it a night." Aria said, yawning.  
"The front bedroom has a queen size bed that has a twin roll out underneath." Spencer suggested.  
"Okay, I'll take the roll-out." Hanna noted.  
"Hey Em." Aria called.  
Emily turned around, smiling.  
"Yeah?"  
"Us three are sleeping in there." Aria said, pointing her finger to the right.  
"So I hope you don't mind sharing the back bedroom with Maya." She continued, with a smile spreading across her face.  
"We don't mind." Maya said, giggling.  
Aria and Spencer climbed onto the bed while Hanna rolled the twin bed out.  
Several hours later, Hanna hears something outside.  
"Aria, wake up!" She whispered, trying frantically to wake her best friend up.  
"What?" asked Aria, in a confused state.  
"I heard a noise." Hanna said, looking around.  
Aria tapped Spencer on the shoulder and told her to move closer to the wall.  
Aria pulled Hanna up and she joined them, scared, in the bed. She still didn't fall back to sleep, so until daylight, Hanna laid there, looking at the door.


	4. Going Away In Handcuffs

**Author's Note: Sorry for not posting in a few days, but this chapter cums up the whole Maya case, so I hope you like it! When you review, please don't hesitate to tell me what ****_you_**** want to see! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.**

The girls grabbed their purses and the bag that A had given them and started out of the door.  
"Maya, aren't you coming?" Emily asked.  
"Em, I can't." Maya replied. "Paige is still out there, It's too dangerous to go back home, so I am going to stay here." She continued.  
"Maya, here, take my phone, that way, if you need us for anything, you can call." Emily said, reaching out her cell phone.  
Maya noticed that Emily's wallpaper was still a picture of Emily and herself with the red scarf draped across her shoulders.  
"I'll see you soon." Maya said, forcing out a smile.  
"Bye." Emily said, giving her a hug and walking towards the door.  
When they got back to Rosewood, the first thing Emily did was went to the store and bought a cheap cell phone with 100 minutes on it. Phone cards were 20 dollars for 500 minutes, but she didn't have a lot of cash on her.  
"Go on out the car, I'll be out in a minute." Spencer said to the other girls.  
Spencer had recently gotten 100 dollars cash for acing a test, so she pulled out 60 dollars, and bought Emily 3 more phone cards, each one containing of 500 minutes.  
She walked outside and gave Emily the bag. Emily looked inside and a huge smile spread across her face.  
"Spence, you didn't have to do this." Emily said, starting to cry.  
"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to." Spencer said in reply.

Later that evening, Emily went to Paige's house .  
"Paige, I need to talk to you." Emily started.  
Paige looked startled.  
"Paige, do you know what happened to Maya?"  
Paige stuttered.  
"Um-"  
"Paige, how could you do this?" Emily started. "I trusted you." she started to cry.  
Paige ran from her, but Emily eventually caught up to her, and that's when the table turned.  
She started to chase Emily and even tried to grab her by the shirt every now and then.  
If Emily was going to keep this up, she had to be smart about it. She ran to her friend. Hanna Marin's house. She knew that she would be home because her date with Caleb was hours ago. She ran to the front door and with everything she had in herself, she rammed her left shoulder into the front door. Paige was about 10 feet behind her, so she rammed into the door again and again. Hanna came to the door, and when she opened it, she looked shocked.  
"Emily!" Hanna shouted.  
Hanna quickly saw Paige behind her and knew what was going on. She knew that with everything she and her mom had been through with the police, she knew that she couldn't take chances. She grabbed her phone, pressed record, and sat it back down on the table.  
She grabbed Emily by the shoulders and pulled her into the house.  
Paige ran in after her and yelled.  
"Em, wait!"  
"What am I waiting for, Paige?"  
Hanna dialed 911 and sat the telephone down.  
"I had to do it, Emily, or else I had no chances with you!" Paige said.  
Emily shoved her and Paige quickly fell down onto the couch.  
Paige came back with great resilience and smacked Emily across the face, then looked at Hanna.  
"This is none of your business." Paige growled.  
"You tried to kill my best friend's girlfriend!" Hanna screamed back.  
She went after Hanna and scratched her arm. Hanna tried to defend herself, but the police showed up. Two officers ran into the Marin's living room and grabbed Paige, throwing her to the ground. Hanna and Emily were both crying when a female officer came in and walked Hanna and Emily to the kitchen.  
After telling the officer everything about Maya and Paige, Hanna hugged Emily while they watched Paige being walked out to the police car in handcuffs.


	5. Trying To Protect You

**Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of posting, but I started my first day of school the other day (8/23/2012) and I really just wanted to relax and watch T.V. and sleep. I will try to start typing some at lunch and then on the weekends. Here is a shorter Emaya chapter for all of you and please keep reviewing so I know what you guys want to see. I will take suggestions on what to add to the story next. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Pretty Little Liars. **

Emily and Maya were sitting in Emily's kitchen.  
"So did you tell them everything?" Emily asked her girlfriend, Maya.  
"Yeah, I mean I kind of had to." Maya responded.  
"I'm just glad you're okay." Emily said to her girlfriend.  
"Emily, I know stuff. Maya said.  
"Maya, what are you talking about?" her girlfriend responded.  
Emily knew that Maya was always curious about stuff, but she had no clue what Maya was talking about now.  
"Your friend, Alison, she had stuff that was hidden all over the house and I thought that you and your friends may be able to use them to get some answers." Maya continued.

"Maya, how long have you known about this?" Emily responded.  
"Em, I didn't even know about A until right before I left Rosewood and Paige told me about Mona."  
"Maya, you can't help us with this, you have to stay out of it." Emily said, worriedly.  
"I've _tried_ to, Emily!" Maya continued.

"Look, I can't just sit here while you are in danger." Emily said.  
"Well I can't just sit here when I know that I can help you find some answers." Maya said and walked out of the room.  
Emily sighed. She knew that her girlfriend just wanted to help her, but she didn't want to risk her relationship with Maya and possibly, Maya's life just to find a few answers. On the other hand, if she _didn't _let Maya help her, then she could _still_ be jeopardizing her relationship.  
"Maya, wait." Emily called, walking into the living room  
"What?" Maya huffed.  
"I just want to protect you!" Emily threw back in anger.  
"Well, I just want to protect you, so just so you know, I _am_ going to help you find out what is going on!" Maya finally said, raising up from her seat.  
Maya walked over and picked up the bag that had stuff from Ali's past.

"Listen, I know what you're trying to do but-" Emily started.  
"But nothing! Emily, face it! I'm helping you!" Maya said.  
Emily finally came to terms with her girlfriend helping her and her friends reveal A's identity and they had decided to take the bag over to Aria's house.


	6. Target Practice

**Author's Note: Sorry, again, for the lack of posting. I have a three day weekend now, so hopefully I will get another chapter up by Monday at the latest. Please feel free to either message me on here, review, or E-mail me at prettylittleliarstheories to tell me what you want to happen next and give me suggestions. I love all of you that have been reviewing, PM-ing, and letting me know that you like to read my work. It means the world to me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Pretty Little Liars. **

"So, this stuff all belonged to Alison?" Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"I guess. I found it in her house, the backyard, all over the place." Maya answered.  
Spencer raised a receipt. "What is this for?"  
Aria examined the piece of torn paper and flipped it over.  
"It's a receipt from a place in Philadelphia. It looks like she bought a pair of binoculars and a flashlight. It's a hunting store." Aria finally determined.  
"What would she be doing at a hunting store?" Maya asked.  
"I don't know, maybe we should visit the place, see what it's all about." Emily said.  
They got into Spencer's car and drove to Philadelphia. Aria had been silent the entire time.  
"Aria, are you okay?" Hanna noticed.  
"I remember, right before Ali disappeared, I had found some binoculars in her room. I asked her what they were for and she looked scared, like I wasn't supposed to know. She said that she was watching somebody and threw them under her bed. Back then, I had just thought that she was stalking some cute guy, but she was watching _her_ stalker.  
"So, Ali was using these to watch A?" Spencer asked, holding up a pair of black binoculars.  
"Okay, so if she was watching A with these, then where did she go?" Emily questioned.  
They all got out of the car and headed into the store.  
An elderly woman greeted them at the front of the store.  
"I was just about to close the place for lunch." She said.  
"I'm so sorry, it's just that we were planning a senior year camping trip for us girls and we needed a few more things to make it complete." Spencer added.  
"Well what do you need help with? I reckon I can keep it open for a little bit more." She replied.  
Her name was Marjorie. She was about the same height as Aria, she had a white bun on the top of her head and little black rimmed glasses framed her small brown eyes. She wore a pair of khaki pants and some brown closed-toe shoes. She walked with a cane and shuffled across the floor. She went behind the counter.  
"What did you need?" She asked.  
"Could you pull up some records for me? I have the receipt." Spencer said.  
Marjorie eyed the girls suspiciously.  
"See, I bought some stuff last year, but I lost it, and I just wanted to buy the same things."  
"Sure." she said, unsure of herself.  
Marjorie pulled out a big pile of folders.  
"I hate technology. I'd rather have a hard copy." she continued pulling out stacks of folders.  
"It should just be from about two years back." Spencer said, trying to steal a glimpse of the papers inside.  
"Name?" Marjorie asked.  
"Uh, Alison DiLaurentis."  
She pulled out a piece of paper with a receipt stapled to it.  
"August 21st, 2010, you bought a pair of binoculars, a pocket knife, and someone bought you a weekend's worth of target practice." Marjorie said.  
The girls looked worried.  
"Who exactly gave it to her?" Aria asked.  
The name's almost gone; The only thing left is the first letter.  
Spencer looked down and saw an A on the signature line.  
"Okay, could you give us the same room that was given to me then." Spencer said, still pretending to be Alison DiLaurentis.  
"Let me go in the back and get the key." Marjorie said, picking up her cane and starting to walk towards the back of the room.  
"Spence, what are we going to do?" Aria asked.  
"I don't know, go back and look for a clue of some sort." Spencer replied.  
"And if there is none?" Aria asked.  
"Then we leave." Hanna said.  
The old lady came back and handed them a key.  
"You'll be in room A." She said. "Be careful." She added as she smiled.


	7. One Week Later

**Author's Note: Shoutout to Brianna S. if you are reading this, for some reson I couldn't reply to you, but thank you so much for reviewing! :) This chapter is just to tide you over until I write some more this weekend! Enjoy, and please review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.**

**One Week Later...**

Spencer woke up and stretched. She looked at the clock that read 10:03 AM, and she decided that staying in bed all day would not be the best idea in the world. She got up, ate a grapefruit for breakfast, and went for a jog in Rosewood Park. She stopped when she felt her phone vibrate against her arm. She was getting a call from a restricted number. She pressed the answer key and held the phone up to her ear.  
"Hello?" Spencer asked.  
"Hello, may I speak to Miss DiLaurentis, please?" A woman asked.  
Spencer stumbled over her thoughts. "Who was this?"  
This person could know something; something that Spencer _had_ to know.  
Spencer finally answered. "This is her."  
"Great!" The women said, cheerfully.  
"Who is this?" Spencer asked.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, My name is Catherine, I am the receptionist of Bullseye Hunting Store, In Philadelphia. I was just calling to let you know that you have been gifted a free weekend of target practice." She said.  
"Um, by who?" Spencer stuttered.  
"Uh, it doesn't say, it just says anonymous." Catherine replied.  
"Okay, thank you for calling to let me know." Spencer replied.  
"No problem, have a nice day." Catherine said, then hung up.  
Spencer hung up, and headed back to her car.  
"So she just called you out of the blue?" Aria asked Spencer.  
"Yeah, I mean, I went running this morning, and she called me just after I got started." Spencer replied.  
"Maybe we should go back up there." Hanna said.  
When they got to the store, a young woman greeted them.  
"Hi, I'm Catherine, how may I help you?"  
Spencer's eyes widened. "Oh, hi there, I was gifted a weekend's worth of target practice, I just came in to redeem it with my friends."  
"Okay, I'll just need to see some IDs." Catherine said in return.  
The girls showed their IDs and waited for Catherine to retrieve the key.  
Catherine came back and dropped a room key into Spencer's hand.  
"Room A." Catherine said, cheerfully.  
Spencer forced out a smile. "Thanks."  
The girls walked back into the room and unlocked the metal door.  
They flipped the switch to bring the targets forward. There was a white envelope attached to each target. The girls ripped open the envelope and flattened the letter that was nesting inside.  
"Don't underestimate me." -A  
The girls pulled out a picture of each of them with a bullet hole through it.  
"Oh my god!" Aria gasped.  
"A is not messing around!" Hanna said.  
"Let's just go." Emily pleaded.  
The girls left and went home, scared for what was going to come next.


	8. Ali Is Sorry My Dear

**Author's Note: I've been trying to write as much as possible in my free time, but with school, I have very little time during the week. With my Jaria story, it was meant to be a one-shot, but people have been saying that they want more chapters, so I will try to update that one too. I really hope you like this chapter, and I want to thank all of my new readers along with everybody who has been with me since I have started writing this. We are ****_VERY _****close to the A reveal. Again, my story is going in a completely different direction than the show. The only thing that is the exact same is that Mona is in Radley and the girls are still getting A messages. Hope you like it, sorry for the babble! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars **

Spencer walked through the door later that evening, noticing cardboard boxes framing the table.  
"Mom, what is this?" Spencer asked.  
"Books for the children's ward of the hospital, could you drop them off later?" Her mom asked, taking a bite of her egg-white omelet.  
Spencer nodded in agreement and texted Hanna to go with her to the hospital.  
When they got to the hospital, Spencer and Hanna started taking the books to main entrance.  
"Crap, this box is slipping!" Hanna yelled to Spencer. Spencer couldn't do anything but stare, she, herself, was trying to balance two boxes in her hands. Hanna's box slipped and busted open.  
"Let me help you with that." Wren said from down the hall.  
Hanna winced. Spencer still had no idea what had happened between Wren and Hanna.  
"Thanks." Hanna stuttered.  
"No problem." Wren said, with a smile.  
Wren stuffed the books back in the box, and carried them to the nurse's office.  
"Where you taking these to?" he asked.  
"Children's." Spencer replied.  
Wren taped the bottom of the box and started walking towards the elevator. Hanna hated even being near Wren, let alone being trapped in an elevator with him. She could hear the slight buzzing of the elevator's mechanics, and it seemed like it took forever for it to stop. When the doors opened, Hanna was the first one to step out.  
"So how is Mona doing?" Spencer asked, finally breaking the silence.  
"Uh, she's doing pretty good." he said, looking directly at Hanna.  
"Yeah, well I was thinking about going to visit her." Hanna said in response.  
"Oh, yeah , we could stop by right after this." Spencer said.  
"Sure." Hanna said, while she forced a smile. They dropped off the books, said goodbye, and left.  
"Were you serious about visiting Mona again?" Spencer asked.  
"Yes, Spencer. Look, I know that she's not our best friend, but she used to be mine." Hanna snapped back.  
Noticing that something was obviously wrong, Spencer agreed.  
Hanna wanted to tell Spencer, but she was afraid of how Spencer would react. When they parked the car in the parking lot, Spencer was hesitant to get out of the car.  
"Are you sure you want me to come with you?" Spencer asked.  
"Yes, I'm sure!" Hanna said.  
They entered Radley Sanitarium, checked in, and walked into Mona's room.  
"Hey Mona." Hanna said in a quiet, delicate, voice.  
"Spencer came with me." She added.  
"What is she doing here?" Mona asked.  
"She was with me when we dropped books off to the hospital." Hanna replied.  
"Was my doctor there?" Mona asked, referring to Wren.  
"Yeah, yeah, he was there." Hanna said, dropping her head.  
The head nurse came over and checked her watch.  
"Well, visiting hours are almost over, you got 10 more minutes, then you've got to sign out." She said.  
Hanna told Mona about Rosewood High, who had gotten boob jobs, and how her and Caleb were doing, dancing around the subject of A.  
"Mona, is there anything you can tell us?" Spencer asked softly.  
"Spencer, the only thing I can say is that Ali is sorry, my dear." Mona said with a smile.  
Alright, visiting hours are over!" The nurse yelled from across the room.  
Mona stood up and started chanting.  
"Ali is sorry, my dear."  
"Ali is sorry, my dear."  
"Ali is sorry, my dear."  
The nurse tried to give Mona her medicine, but Mona wouldn't take it. She started screaming, hysterically!  
"ALI IS SORRY, MY DEAR!"  
"ALI IS SORRY, MY DEAR!"  
Hanna and Spencer ran out of the building, when it started to rain.  
"Alright, _what_was she talking about?" Spencer asked.  
"I don't know! Let's just go!" Hanna replied.


	9. In Awe

**Author's Note: We are so close to an epic showdown! :) Hopefully the next chapter will be up tomorrow. Thank you for reading! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars **

**Later at Spencer's barn...**  
"I don't know what she meant by that." Spencer said.  
Hanna and Aria came through the door with bottles of tea for the girls.  
"Spencer, Hanna and I think we know what Mona meant." Aria said.  
"Go on." Spencer urged.  
"Well, in the code that we used the summer after Ali went missing, it translates to A IS MD." Hanna replied.  
"The only MD we know is Wren, the doctor." Aria spoke, sadly.  
Spencer looked shocked. "Why would he be A, Aria? Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, that she's mad because she's locked up at Radley?!" Spencer shouted.  
"Or maybe she is trying to help us!" Hanna shot back.  
"Wren isn't who you think he is, Hanna, he's actually a nice guy!  
"Wren isn't who _you _think he is, either, Spence! He kissed me, tried to go out with me, and when I cut my leg,he tried to nurse be back to health with his sexual healing , so I don't think that you should give him a lot of credit!" Hanna shot out, and then dropped her head in shame of what she had just said to her best friend.  
Spencer's mouth dropped in awe.  
"Spencer, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, it's just, I didn't want you to get hurt." Hanna said, almost in a whisper  
Spencer teared up. "Well, it's a little too late for that, isn't it?"  
She got up and walked back to her house. Aria, Hanna, and Emily looked at each other.  
"What do we do now?" Emily asked.  
Aria stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to speak to Wren. She started walking towards the door before anyone could stop her. Emily stood up and stuck her cell phone in her pocket.  
"I'm going with you." she said.  
Hanna started to stand up when Aria walked over to her. "You should go try to talk to Spencer."  
"Maybe one of you two should stay, I don't really think she wants to talk to me."  
"Hanna, you need to talk it out with her." Aria said.  
"Please Hanna, just go in there and talk to her." Emily said.  
"Fine." Hanna said, "But you guys be careful, and call me if you need anything!"  
"Okay, we will." Aria said.  
Aria and Emily got into Aria's car and pulled out of the driveway. Hanna grabbed her bag and slid her phone into the front pocket of her bag and headed out of the barn and into Spencer's house. Luckily, her parents weren't home, so Hanna could talk to Spencer without anybody hearing them.  
"Spence?" Hanna called.  
"Listen, I know you don't want to talk to me, but I think we really need to talk." Hanna said as she pushed Spencer's bedroom door open.  
"You've already said all that you need to." Spencer replied.  
"No, I didn't." Hanna said, as she sat on Spencer's bed.  
"What's left? Did you have sex with him too?" Spencer asked.  
"No, Spencer, you should know me better than that!" Hanna said. She understood that Spencer was angry, but there was no need in accusing her!  
"Well you lied to me about this, how do I know what else you're hiding?" Spencer yelled as she walked out of the door. Hanna couldn't believe what Spencer just said. How could Spencer think that Hanna would betray her like that? Hanna started to cry when Spencer walked back in.  
"I'm so sorry, Han!" Spencer said, as she started to tear up. Spencer flopped herself back on her bed and hugged Hanna. All Hanna could think about was where Emily and Aria were and whether she should tell Spencer.


	10. Showdown

**Author's Note: This is a REALLY dramatic, but short chapter. I have been so busy in school, so I am so sorry for the lack of posting, but I will try to update more often. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars.**

Aria entered the hospital with a determined look in her eyes. She walked straight up to the nurse's desk and smack her hand on the countertop.  
"Can you please page Dr. Kingston? It's urgent." Aria asked.  
"Can I ask your name?" The nurse asked.  
"Melissa Hastings." Aria replied, her lips twisting into a smile.  
She could hear the nurse speak into a microphone. "Dr. Kingston to the first floor nurse's station please."  
Wren came running down the hall. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
The nurse replied by pointing over to Aria.  
"What are you doing here?" Wren asked Aria.  
"Wren, I'm cutting straight to the point. I know you're involved with A."  
"Excuse me, who?" Wren asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"You know who." Aria said, staring Wren directly in the eyes. "And if you _ever_ to hurt Spencer, I _will _come after you." She said, menacingly.  
Wren looked Aria up and down, before he walked away. Aria turned on her heel and walked out of the door, and back to her car with Emily. As soon as Aria opened the door, Emily burst into questions.  
"Are you okay? What Happened?"  
"Just drive!" Aria said.  
Once they started to drive, Aria explained what had just happened.  
"Hey, drive to Melissa's apartment, I need to figure out where Wren lives." Aria said to Emily.  
"Aria, I don't think we need to-" Emily started.  
"Em, what if Wren tries to hurt Spencer?" Aria asked.  
"Fine, but what if we get caught?" Emily asked.  
"We won't, as long as we hurry up!" Aria replies.  
When they parked the car, Aria and Emily got out and walked into Melissa's Philadelphia apartment.  
"What are we looking for?" Emily asks.  
"Anything with Wren's address.  
They searched the apartment, but found nothing.  
On their way back to Spencer's house, they saw a car on the side of the road.  
"Aria, stop, that's Maya!" Emily shouted.  
Emily's world melted into madness as she saw her girlfriend sitting in her car, crying. They pulled over, and Emily jumped out, rushing to her girlfriend's side.  
"Maya, what's wrong?" Emily asked.  
Her girlfriend looked over, tears streaming down her face.  
"He's back!" She said to Emily.  
"Who's back?" Aria asked.  
"Nate, the guy from True North, he's back." Maya cried out.  
Maya knew instantly, and the clues all started making sense.  
"Where did he go?" Emily asked.  
"I don't know, he just left, and I wasn't paying attention." Maya answered.  
"Let's go home and call the cops." Emily said.  
"He'll recognize her car, why don't we go in my car, and come back later to get Maya's?" Aria suggested.  
"That's a good idea, he knows what I drive." Maya agreed.  
They all climbed into Aria's car and drove off.  
Aria slammed on the brakes when a rabbit ran out in front of their car. Up the road, they could see a shadowy figure, but before it reached the other side of the road, it got hit by a car.  
"Oh my gosh, that was a person!" Maya screamed.  
The girls got out of the car, ran to the scene, only to find that it was Nate, lying on the side of the road, blood pouring from his limp body. Maya and Emily held each other while they broke down in tears. The police showed up and reported him dead at 9:19 P.M.


	11. Game On

**Author's Note: I know that this is a short chapter, but this is the last chapter of Closer Than You Think and I will start a new story soon based on A's POV for the first season or two. I will maybe do a sequel to this one later. Let me know what you want me to do. Thank you fo being loyal readers to me through my very first story. **

The girls woke up, four weeks later, scattered across Spencer's barn.  
Emily jerked awake, coming out of a nightmare about Nate and Maya. Hanna grabbed her shoulders.  
"Em, you okay?" Hanna asked.  
Emily nodded. "Yeah, It just keeps replaying."  
"It's over now." Aria said, rubbing Emily's shoulder.  
Emily smiled.  
Their phones beeped in unison.  
"You thought it was over, but the games have just begun." - A


End file.
